Adjustable gaff



C. W. A. KOELKEBECK 5 Sheets-Shea t l A TTORNE Y.

July 8, 1924. www1 C. W. A; KOELKEBECK ADJUSTABLE GAFF Filed sept. 29. 1921 s sheets-sheet e DO INVENTOR. CRW@ .0..

BY ai) @MMA ADJUSTABLE GAFF Filed sept., 29. 1921 3 sheets-sneu g lrllllllllU INVENTOR.

.M BVD, l I c A NATTORNEY.

Patented July 8, 1924.

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CARL W. A. KOELKEBECK, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

i ADJUSTABLE GAFF.

Application led September 29, 1921. Serial N0. 504,158.

To all whom t may concer/n: Y

Be it known that I, CARL 7. A. KoELKE- BECK, residing at Pittsburgh, in the countyl of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, a citizen of the United States, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Gafis, of which improvements the following is specification.

The invention described herein relates to certain improvements in the rigging of vessels or boats having fore and aft sails. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the boom and gaff assume when the sail is hoisted, different angles to center line of the hull, the'angle of the gait with such line being greater than that of the boom, Vso that when sailing close hauled the portion of the sail adjacent to the outer end of the gaff will be nearly parallel with the direction of the wind. As the propelling effect of the wind is nearly proportional to the angle at which the wind impinges on the sail, it is evident that when sailing in any direction, except immediately before the wind, a portion of the sail area will be partially ineective.

And further, when sails are supported as at present, the pressure of the wind causes a bagging of the sail adjacent to the boom, the degree of bagging being proportional to the pressure of the wind, i. e., its velocity. vlien such bagging occurs the foot of the sail extends from the boom nearly horizontally for a short distance, then curves upwardly. The pressure of the wind on the bagged part of the sail tends to increase the submergence of the hull and as a consequence, a retardation of the rate of movement of the hull through the water.

The invention described herein has for its object the provision of'means secured to the mast whereby the lateral movement ofl the gaif and its angular position relative to the center line of the hull may be regulated i-ndependent of the position of the lower end The invention is hereinafter of the sail. more fully describedY and claimed.

ln the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, Fig. l shows in side elevation a portion of a mast Iandthe upper portion 0fafore and aft Sail in C0111- bination with the improvement claimed herein; Fig. 2 is atop plan View of the construction shown in Fig. l; Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are plan views illustrating modificatiees ef the ga@ Spider-5 Figs: 52 6? and are side elevations and a plan view illustrating further modifications of the spider; Fig. S is a plan View of a form of spider for small sails; Figs. 9 and 10 are details of said spider; Fig. ll is an elevation showing a mast and sail combined with the form of spider shown in Fig. 8; Fig. l2 is a diagrammatic view showing the gaff and boom and illustrating the position of the sail under the present ractice and the position to which the ga and sail are preferably brought for the greatest efficiency in the practice of the invention claimed herein.

In the practice of the invention the sail l is of the usual or any suitable shape and is secured to the fixed mast 2, boom 3 and gaff 4 in the usual manner. The usual throat and peak halyards 5 and 6 are employed for raising the gaff to stretch the sail and the boom or lower portion of the sail is shifted and held in a desired position by a sheet 3 as is the usual practice. The trimming of fore and aftsails is dependent upon the angle between the direction of the vessel and the direction of the wind, the smaller such angle the nearer must the boom be drawn to parcllelism with the centerline of the vessel. As in the present nov means are employed except the sail itself for controlf ling the lateral movement of the gaff, the latter will assume a position in line or nearly in line with the direction of the wind in which position of the gaff and sail, the wind will impinge at such a small angle on a large portion of the sail as to have little if any propellingeffect. lf, however, the gaif should be shifted toward vertical vparellelism with the boom, more and more of the sail will become-.efiicient To this end provision is made whereby the lateral position of the gaif may be changed in a manner substantially similar to that employed for adjusting the boom. A desirable means to that end consists in securing to the mast at a suitable pointabove the normal position of the throat of the gaif, arms 7 and 8 extending at an angle to the center lineJ of ship, and connecting these arms tothe ga by block and tackle corresponding to the sheet employed for shifting the boom. A convenient construction for securing the. arms to the mast, consists of a sleeve 1l adapted to be secured around the mast and having the inner ends of the arms and Slisecure'd thereto. In the con- Strutoafshcwaie Figs l and 2, the Sleeve 11 is provided with sockets 12 for the reception of the inner ends of the arms which may be made tubular. In case it is necessary, stays 12a may be secured to a strap 13 on the mast and caps 14 on the ends of the arms, and ii desired, a spreader 15 may be interposed between the outer ends of the arms. Blocks 9 and 10 are attached to the arms and gall respectively, and the sheets passing through these blocks extend down adjacent to the mast to the deck. When the improvement is used in connection with small sails, the arms 7 and 8 may be made integral With the sleeve 11a, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and the sleeve may be made l integral and slipped over the top of the mast, or may be made in sections as shown in Fig. 4 and secured around the mast by bolts and nuts.

In Figs.` 5, 6, and 7 is shown a construction in which the sleeve 11b is formed in sections adapted to be secured together, and the arms 7 and 8 formed integral with one of the sections. At the lower ends the sleeves are provided wit-h lugs 16 having eyes and to these lugs the upper ends of the shrouds 17 may be secured. A lug 18 may be formed at the lower end ot one of the sections and to the lug may be connected the upper block of the throat halyards, and the inner block of the peak halyards may be secured to a vertical rib 19 on the sleeve section. The other sleeve section may be formed with a rib 20 to which may be connected stays 21.

In Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11 is shown a construction which is suitable for sails for small sloops, cat-boats, etc. In this construction the arms 7a and 8 are termed integral with the sleeve 11a and the outer ends of the arm are connected by a curved, member 22 provided with a plurality ot lugs 23 spaced a distance a little greater than the transverse dimensions of the gaff. Then using this construction, the galt' or at least the outer end of the gait is lowered, when the sail is to be shifted, and when the gafl' in its lateral movement, reaches the desired position, it is raised so as to pass between ad-l ljacent lugs.

It is characteristic of the invention that provision is made for late-rally shift-ing the galt as well as the boom so that substantially the entire area of the sail will be presented at such an angle to the wind, even when the vessel is close hauled, as to be effective in moving the vessel. It is believed that by shitting the gatl' forward ot the boom, or

to a position more nearly parallel with the center line of the vessel as shown in Fig. 12, the'wind will act morel efciently on the entire area of the sail. Y

When the gait is allowed entire freedom of movement as in the present practice, there will be a bagging of ythe sail adjacent to the foot, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l12, but

Vposition of the gaff laterally are xed to the mast.

No claim is made herein broadly to the provision of means other than the usual Jfor determining the angular position of the gait to the direction of the wind, as such improvements form the subject matter of ,a

patent No. 1,438,246, granted Dec. 12, 1922.V

I claim herein as my invention: 1. A vessel having in combination therewith a non--rotatable mast, a. gait', a sail dependingfrom the gat?, halyards for raising.

the gait, arms secured to the mast and eX- tendmg from the mast in directions at angles to the center line of the vessel, and means carried by the arms and adapted to engage and maintain the gatf in any desired position relative 'to the center line ot' the vessel.

2. A vessel having in combinationtherewith a non-rotatable mast, a gaii, a sail eX- tending from the gall, halyards for raising the gaff, arms secured to the mast and e2;-A

tending from the mast in directions at right angles to the center line of the vessel and means extending from the arms to the gait for shifting the latter in directions transversely of the vessel.

3. A vessel having in combination there" with a non-rotatable mast, a gall, a sail depending from the gaff, halyards for raising the galli, a sleeve secured to the mast7 blocks torpthe halyards connected to the sleeve, arms extending Vfrom the sleeve in directions at angles to the center line of the vessel and means carried by the arms and adapted to engage and maintain the gafl in Yany desired position relative to the Vcenter line ot' the vessel.

Y 4. A vessel having in combination therewith a nonrotatable mast, a gaf, a saildepending from the gan", halyards for raising the gai, a sleeve secured to the mast, shrouds having their upper ends secured to the sleeve, blocks for the halyards connected Vto the sleeve, arms.v extending from'the sleeve in di- Y rections at'angles to the center line of the vessel and meansv carried by the arms and adapted to engage'and maintain the gai in anydesired lpositionrelative to the'oenter line of the vessel. Y

In testimony-whereof I have hereunto set my hand. f, Y Y

CARL W; KOELKEBECK. 

